It is well known in the art to use side wings, side blades, snow wings or the like aside a motor vehicle such as a snowplow or the like to increase the effective width spanning of the vehicle when used to push snow or other material covering a road surface or the like on the side thereof. Side wings are usually retracted and raised alongside of the vehicle when not in use and positioned at a predetermined angle relative thereto, on the road surface, when in use. Depending on the specific needs, the predetermined angle could be chosen to have the side wing extending laterally from the vehicle over a distance that is usually close to encompass the adjacent lane.
Several side wing mounting systems exist, a few examples of which are as follows:                U.S. Pat. No. 2,643,470, issued Jun. 30, 1953, to Kaeser for “Wing Plow Structure”;        U.S. Pat. No. 2,991,566, issued Jul. 11, 1961, to Sumner et al. for “Snow Plow Blade Mounting Structure”;        U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,363, issued May 2, 1972, to Snyder for “Adjustable Wing Plow with Means for Positively Maintain Adjustment”;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,892, issued Sep. 6, 1977, to Farrell for “Hydraulically Operated Front and Rear Wing Hangers for Snow Plows”;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,652, issued Jun. 27, 1978, to Raines et al. for “Retractable Snowplow Wing and Mounting therefor”;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,766, issued Nov. 9, 1982, to Croteau et al. for “Snow Plow Side Wing Assembly”;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,343, issued Jul. 16, 1991, to Houle et al. for “Mounting Bracket for Side Wing Plow”;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,887, issued Jan. 12, 1993, to McGugan et al. for “Snow Wing”;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,992, issued Jun. 26, 2001, to Irving et al. for “Retractable Snow Plow Wing Assembly”; and        U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,200, issued Jul. 2, 2002, to Savard for “Retractable Side Wing Assembly”.        
The front mounting structure of the side wing conventionally allows the front end of the side wing to be raised and lowered and to pivot between the extended and retracted side wing positions. The rear mounting structure of the side wing typically includes a pair of parallel arms extending between the vehicle and the side wing. Both arms, having a predetermined length, have their proximal end pivotally connected to the vehicle and their distal end pivotally connected to the side wing. An actuator extends between the proximal and distal ends of the arms at an angle therewith. The actuator is used to raise the side wing into the retracted position and lower it into the extended position.
Other rear mounting structures have the distal ends of the two arms, not necessarily parallel to each other, connected to the side wing via a second actuator typically mounted within a telescopic arm to vary the length thereof and operatively independent from the first actuator. Accordingly, the operator can select the position of the side wing relative to the vehicle depending on the desired lateral spanning of the side wing in the extended position.
All these rear mounting structures require a large amount of parts with rigid arms and at least one actuator. When an adjustable positioning of the side wing is desired, a relatively complex telescopic arm combined with a second actuator that can undergo the stress loads are added thus rendering the structure even more complex and susceptible to damages and frequent repairs.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved side wing adjustable mounting device with a simple configuration.